Johey will be wheeled into theatre at 11pm Tuesday (AEDT) to remove what specialists believe are up to 200 tumours from his abdomen.

Last month The Mercury told Johey's story and how his parents have found hope in a specialist doctor in North Carolina - one of the only locations in the world to tackle Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumours (DSRCT). Professor Andrea Hayes-Jordan devotes her research to DSRCT. These are aggressive tumors that typically begin in the abdomen or pelvis and usually occur in white adolescent males.

Johey's mum Emma said Professor Hayes-Jordan was very encouraging. "She says that from Johey's scans she expects to remove 100-200 tumours," Emma said. "She is very positive about the outcome. Her technique is different to what we were offered in Australia," she said.

"Johey is well and happy. We are all a little nervous, but buoyed knowing we are in expert hands here," Emma said. "We spent a wonderful day at Kennedy Space Centre and met retired astronaut and NASA adminstrator, Fred Gregory. A highlight for Johey was seeing the SpaceX launch pad where Elon Musk launched a Tesla from."

The family celebrated Christmas early with a visit to Universal Studios. "It was a Christmas outing to make up for being in hospital last Christmas and the fact that Johey will most likely be out of action again this Christmas," Emma said. "He stopped taking the anti-cancer tablet a week ago. It can interfere with wound healing. This has given Johey a welcome freedom that he hasn't experienced for some time.

"We have to thank everyone who has supported us in making it here. We feel very fortunate to have been able to make this choice, which we understand is the best procedure for Johey in terms of treatment with curative intent. We're bracing for an anxious day on Tuesday and a tough recovery, but are so very hopeful that we will have a positive outcome."